Saturday, January 19, 2013

Local’s Corner

In continuing my "new places that open before 10:00am in 2013", I ate breakfast this morning at Local's Corner. They open up at 8:00am seven days a week (including Saturday and Sunday). They are still a rather new-ish place; they have been open for less than a year now. I think the "local's corner" refers to where they are located: on the corner of Bryant and 23rd Streets in the Mission. At least I just assume that is why they had "Local's" as singular and possessive and not "Locals" plural (as a place for "locals" to hang out). Parking was very easy for a change that early on a Saturday morning and I found a legal spot just a half-block away.

Their décor looks like a Victorian parlour or kitchen from the turn of the Century (that would be 19th turning into 20th). The seating is simply five tables of two seats, three tables of four seats, four counter seats, and five tables of two seats outside on the sidewalk (so, if my calculations are correct, that's about 36 total, give or take a few fingers and toes). It was all pretty spacious and had an uncrowned feel to it and they probably could squeeze in a few more tables if they ever felt like it.

They only offer a 3-Course Prix Fixe[1] "Brunch" on the weekends (and on Saturdays and Sundays, too), but they are open during the week and serve regular breakfasts with several interesting items. This weekend's 3-Course Prix Fixe"Brunch" was:

Toast, Butter, Seasonal Preserves for the Table……………………………….....................................................................(choice of) Granola and Yogurt and stuff; or Frittata of Mushroom, Chèvre[2], and something else that I forgot; or some kinda Cheese Plate……………………………….....................................................................(choice of)Belgian Waffle, Chicory Syrup, Apple, Whipped Cream; or Chicken Hash and stuff; or some other Smoked Fishy dish

I also got a cuppa Sightglass Coffee, Blueboon Blend to complement the meal.

The toast/bread was some kinda Vollkornbrot (whole grain bread with pumpkin seeds and such). I thought it nice that they served the butter with coarse sea salt on top of it. The stone fruit preserves was very good, too; I am not sure what fruits it included, probably peach and plum.

I opted for the Frittata for the Second Course. It was served with a mess o' watercress or arugula (some kinda spicy greenleafy thing; Who am I, Emeril Lafreakinggasse?) and thinly sliced radishes on top. The chèvre was really the key to this dish; besides, I forgot what else was in it other than mushrooms.

For the Third Course, of course (it was really the only stupid vegetarian choice), I had the waffle (dans le mode de Belgique) with (green) apples (I am not sure what type, as I didn't ask) and chicory syrup (whatever that is; syrup flavoured with chicory or syrup made from chicory?). This was all very good, too.

As this was a Prix Fixe kinda dealy, the portions may seem a bit smallish, but they were all perfectly fine with me. However, if you have a large(r) appetite, you might want to get another side of soup or potatoes. I finished everything I had and felt more than sufficiently full.

The coffee was a good, strong cuppa. The really interesting thing is that each pot of coffee is made from fresh ground beans (I saw them actually using a large coffee grinder; no hammers and paper towels were needed, Dave) and then via la méthode de la presse française.

Local's Corner offers for condimentary supplementation some of their own fresh made pepper sauces from whatever strikes their mood, baby; today there was a red (medium heat) and a green (hot). The green was really very good with a lot of flavour and just the right amount of heat. My very helpful server informed me (after I bugged him to ask the cooks) that the green sauce was made with Hungarian hot peppers. I used both the red and green sauces liberally on the frittata. I even joked to my server that I wouldn't need any of the hot sauces for the waffle… however, once suggested, I had to try it, and must admit that the green sauce really was very good in combination with all of the flavours of the apples, syrup, and whipped cream. Really, just a few drops was all that was needed to enhance the flavours. I tried some of the redon the waffle, too, but the green worked best with the sweet stuff.

"Prix Fixe" simply means "fixed price" in French. It is pronounced "pree ficks", as the first "x" is silent. I don't know why it's not "pree fee" or "pricks ficks", though; that's just the damned Frenchies for ya!

However, when I asked if I could 'fix my own price", they just laughed at me.

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer du jour, numéro deux:

"Chèvre" is French for "goat" and is just used to denote "goat cheese" in 'merica.